Critics warn of growing government influence over app stores
• Digital rights advocates warn Google’s new global developer registration system will chill innovation and harm privacy
• Critics say the plan could cement Google’s monopoly and invite government surveillance
• EFF joins F-Droid in urging developers and users to resist centralization of Android’s open ecosystem
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and open-source app repository F-Droid are warning that a new Google developer registration program could fundamentally reshape Android’s open ecosystem—giving both corporations and governments more leverage over what software people can create and use.
The move comes amid mounting concern that Apple and Google have become global gatekeepers for mobile software. The groups say recent incidents—such as Apple’s removal of the ICEBlock app following U.S. government pressure—show how easily those gates can be used to suppress certain apps or viewpoints. The app allowed users to share the location of ICE immigration teams.
Google to require ID and fees for all Android app developers
Under Google’s new program, set to launch worldwide next year, developers will need to register with the company, provide government-issued identification, and pay a fee before their apps can be installed on certified Android devices.
Google calls the system “an extra layer of security” designed to deter bad actors. But critics say the requirements have little to do with app safety and instead give Google access to personal information about nearly every Android developer worldwide.
F-Droid warns that small independent developers, researchers, and privacy-focused coders—especially those who work anonymously or in politically sensitive environments—could be forced out of Android development altogether.
Advocates fear chilling effects and deeper monopolization
EFF and F-Droid argue that the centralized database will discourage innovation, endanger vulnerable developers, and further entrench Google’s dominance in the mobile ecosystem. “When you set up a gate, you invite authorities to use it to block things they don’t like,” EFF wrote, urging the public to support decentralized, community-driven alternatives.
The timing, they note, is striking: Google is still defending itself in the Epic Games v. Google antitrust case, which accuses it of unfairly penalizing developers who distribute apps outside its own store. The new registration rules, critics say, could give Google yet another lever to maintain control over billions of Android devices.
EFF has signed on to F-Droid’s open letter opposing the plan, calling it a pivotal moment for digital freedom and the future of open technology.